Ascension Day A cold grey day. Service at eight, Mr Moore brought the sacrament over to father and gave it him in his room, doing this in the middle of the service. The doctorate’s visit said that father is now out of danger, so we hope now that all will go well. Mary went back to London on Tuesday stop At 730 we had Evensong. The choir sang the Rosy Sequence. It is quite the most beautiful hymn ever written both as regards the words & music.
A terrible, an awful thing happened on Monday evening. Father was standing outside the boiling house talking to Eli with his gun under his arm when it slipped & fell to the ground & went off the charge entering his left foot. I was weeding the border by the front door when it happened. Beatrice came running to me with the news of the accident, I went & found him lying on the ground. Ballsdon Eli & Lane got a door & we put him on it & carried him in and got him to bed & I tied up...
On Thursday I went up to Exeter with Nicholas & dispatched him to school. A great responsibility gone, I stayed a couple of nights in Exeter, & met various old friends. On Friday I had tea at Delles with Tindall, Briggs, Alexandre, & Paramore. Came home on Sat. The fighting on the Western front is intense Mildred Hillyard’s husband, Capt Bradford has been drowned. He was on his way home from Nigeria, & when near England the ship was torpedoed, he & some other passengers got into a boat which was upset, all were lost.
Lovely day, really hot, but still very few trees in leaf. This afternoon Charlotte May Shaw, D & I went into North Park Wood, & had our team there, we made the donkey carry all the things on his back. It was very lovely & peaceful down there, the anemones were out, & the Larch just in leaf. The food question is getting more serious every day, the Germans are determined to starve us out their U boats are busy sinking ships of all nationalities within a limited zone around the British Isles. Every day appeals are issued urging people...
A whole week of perfect weather. Bright sun, but still not really hot, as the wind is cold. Mary Shaw came here on Thursday. Mr Franchelian went away that day. His ship was supposed to sale in the afternoon from Plymouth for Mombasa, via Cape Town. We hope he will have time to see Agnes on the way. I had the letter affixed to this page on Wednesday, from Mrs Collinson. It is a wonderful example of unselfish bravery, in its there is no word of herself or her sorrow, truly the world is full of beautiful characters. On Friday...
A wonderful day. Really warm & fine & like spring, it is almost too good to be true. Temp 58°. The fighting in France is fearful a large casualty list in each day and stop one list of 46 officers wounded & 13 killed all belonging to the Northumberland Fusiliers.
George Collinson has been killed in an aeroplane accident in Scotland. He was buried yesterday morning in Mary Stowe churchyard. Father Dorothea & I went over to the service. Mrs Collinson we hear is wonderfully brave, but it is a terrible blow to her, as he was all she lived for, & he was such a nice boy & good son. The fighting in France is now terrific. The French have begun their attack & taken 17,000 prisoners & many guns, our army is also taking many prisoners, & making furious attacks on the enemy. It really seems now as...
The Winter has returned again. Last week we had snow most days & a few blizzards & thunderstorms thrown in, & an icy wind. It is too depressing for words. Mary came home on Thursday in holy week & stayed until Monday. Even appeared on Monday. He is going to France to work in canteens. We had a fine Easter morning, but later in the day the good old hail etc returned. America has now declared war & on Easter Monday we began our big push & have gone forward & taken many prisoners & gains etc. The news is...
Winter back again. All last week the wind was bitter & on Thursday morning there was snow. Every day since it has snowed & on Monday, Tuesday extra special line in snowstorms, with high wind. Father has had a very nasty cold, being on the for more than a week & children also have colds. Yesterday I went to Exeter to meet Nicholas, had a perilous journey to the station, the snow balled in the Abbots hoofs, Wilcox had to lead him down the steep hill. At Exeter had only two hours. Went to Number One hospital, saw Bert Clogg....
Brightest day, but bitter wind. The children & I went to Yeomans Mill to take Mr Neale & his nephew cards about National Service. Mr Neale told me a wonderful tale that he had heard from the morning postman, namely that 30,000 Germans had landed in England, & that all the soldiers on leave had been recalled on Saturday & that six express trains had gone up from the West during the weekend full of men returning from leave. It was a fine tale but the very unreliable source may be doubted. Anyhow it made father used at teatime. We...
Another fine day. We were excited this morning at seeing 21 pheasants in the field by the lawn. Elizabeth & Philippa were very interested. In the afternoon went down to Yalford to inquire for Nora Guscott who is very ill. The revolution in Russia is a big thing. The Emperor and Empress are prisoners. Our if only Germany would follow suit & pop the Kaiser & his sons into a prison, perhaps the war would cease. Am reading Wells’ new book, “War & the future.” In it he states that the development of the tanks will be perhaps the means...
Father says the wind is N.E. Dorothea says N.W. Which am I to believe? Anyhow it was cold wherever it was. It is also the birthday of the great Dorothea Juliana Drewe. D and I drove to Haine. We saw the baby, poor little thing she looks very frightened. This retreat of the Germans is evidently a clever move affairs, as they have destroyed everything on their way. Some authorities consider that by doing it now, they have hindered us from making any big move forward this summer.
Our troops have taken Bapaume & Péronne. The heading in the paper to day was “Germans crumpling up.” The Russians are to have Duke Michael as Tsar, & the Emperor Nicholas retires. We wonder what is the real truth of it all it is so difficult to find out anything from the papers as they are so one sided. The Turks are fleeing, so altogether we feel more cheered to day, if only we could hear some news of Bob.
Bag dad is taken by our army. It was entered on Sunday & by now they are about 30 miles n of it. This ought to mean something, anyhow it cheers us up. In to days paper is the startling news that the Tsar has abdicated. There have been terrible riots in Petrograd, food riots. & Now the Duma wishes to have real power instead of being a mere letter. There is also a feeling that the government & the Imperial party are in the pay of the Germans. This however is only what we gather from the newspapers of...
Another wet Sunday. In Thursday’s paper was an account of a Home Rule Debate in the House. The Government are now independent of the Irish Vote, & although the Home Rule has been passed yet now Lloyd George turns round & says that Home Rule can be for those who want it, which means that Ulster is to be left out. This naturally makes Irishmen very angry as they consider they have been badly treated, & so they have. This affair & the publication of the Report of the Commission on the Dardanelles has made the week a depressing one....
A terrible N E wind cutting through everything, strong & biting. I tried to go to Marystowe, but had to turn back. Father however drove in to Tavistock for a Kelly College meeting. The Germans continue to withdraw on the western front. Lovat Fraser – a writer in the Daily Mail – gives 6 probable reasons why they are doing it. One is that by retreating in this way we have to go to the expense of making fresh railways & so will have to postpone our offensive. He states that it does not indicate any weakness on their part....
Still very cold. Dorothea came back from Salcombe on Friday. Had a letter from Agnes, dated Jan 22nd. She has now quite given up the idea of coming home this spring. It is not safe for women & children to travel these days & the mails are very spasmodic.
A bitter day. Wind S.,E. at 12-30 a driving rain with snow. Did not go out during afternoon. Read “Mr Britling Sees it Through” by Wells. Most interesting.
Kut has been taken and the Turks driven back. Here we have been thrilled all day. The face of the stable clock has been regilded. For years the figures have gradually got more & more indistinct until alt last they have disappeared & we could only guess the time by the position of the hands. Two men came up from Plymouth, one came into the house and set going all the clocks, & the other did the gilding. Balsdon was very pleased with himself as it was his suggestion. The man took up three sacks stuffed with hay, which he...
Another move forwards on the Ancre. Serre has been taken. The Germans have withdrawn their troops. We have now at this point in front of our trenches a piece of ground unbroken with shell holes. Lloyd George has made a statement that certain imports are to be forbidden, but that will not affect us much. The potatoe question is a very burning one, the price is very high & some people think that farmers are holding up supplies in case that the price should go up. In the meantime poor people who depend very largely upon potatoes for food have...
